Paper Crane
by pyr0technic
Summary: They work at a paper company. Their lives aren't supposed to be fun. And yet, Phoenix and Miles share a few moments that sometimes make them feel otherwise. From the good, the bad, and everything in between. [theoffice!au. aka jimpam!au.]
1. Chapter 1

**Paper Crane**

 _Chapter 1_ : Strawberry Flavored

* * *

When Miles walked into work that morning, he was unsurprised to find that it was utterly dull and lifeless as usual.

He hadn't been working there forever, but with the monotonous life he led… it seemed like it, sometimes. There was the same dull beep of the fax machine, the _tak-tak-tak_ of the keyboards, and the occasional telephone ring.

He sat at his desk, only to find his usual desk-mate as punctual as ever. Of course, it wasn't that he wasn't punctual, as he'd arrived at nine a.m. on that dot… it was just that his co-worker slash sister insisted on outdoing him on everything. Including who came to work first.

She merely sneered in his direction as an acknowledgement of his presence and continued organizing her manila folders in the correct order.

"Good morning to you too, Franziska."

He glanced around the office, seeing everyone looking equally as dull and dead inside as him, and couldn't suppress a sigh. This place just did that to him sometimes.

And of course, he didn't dare glance behind him, where the manager's office was located. The blinds were usually not drawn, and the man inside could easily see what was going on outside anytime he wanted to. This was usually because he was waiting for something to happen, and Miles did not feel like giving the man any excuse to jump upon.

While he started the monotonous task of reviewing his files from yesterday, he let his mind wander to that inevitable topic: did he have a future here? It's not like he particularly enjoyed this job, but it was what he had at the moment. He was ambitious enough to have a great sales record, of course, (as a paper salesman). However, he couldn't quite summon whatever extra motivation was needed to rethink his career.

He also didn't really want to leave Franziska on her own. She enjoyed her job, and didn't mind the monotony that came with it. She was the best at her job, too, and she never let anyone forget it. Miles did wonder how her sales record was so high with the poor social tact she displayed on multiple occasions.

He shook his head, realizing thinking about this further would lead him nowhere. He instead glanced over at the reception desk, where he found the familiar sight of Phoenix Wright looking bored as ever (if possible, even more bored than him). He was staring at his computer screen, leaving Miles to wonder what he was doing.

 _I'll bet he's trying to beat his old record on one of those games he's always wasting his time on. Or maybe he's just doing something on Paint again._

Miles smirked at the thought, looking down at his own desk again. Well, if he _was_ messing around on Paint again, he had to admit that Phoenix wasn't a bad artist at all. But he'd be damned if he had to admit that to anyone but himself.

Phoenix certainly didn't let the fact that he was a lowly receptionist ever stop him from acting like he was all that, especially when Miles was in the equation. He was the only person who showed even a remote amount of enthusiasm and life in this place, though Franziska just claimed that he was a fool whose foolishness had no ends.

Miles would have preferred to save that articulate description for their dreaded boss.

At the thought of that man, he repressed another sigh and quickly got to work, not wanting to have to interact with him any time soon.

&.

Phoenix was indeed, messing around on the old dinosaur computer's Paint program. He was creating a nice scene at the park, complete with tree, bench, birds, and even a little hole in the tree for the owl. It was… an interesting drawing.

Phoenix snorted.

 _This looks like something a five-year-old did. Albeit, I guess a talented five-year-old, but still._

He frowned and took a look at his almost-finished picture, not quite satisfied. He wondered maybe if he added some shading it would look less childish and more… adult-y.

Once he finished up the shading, he came to the conclusion that the drawing looked decidedly way more like an adult man had created it as opposed to a child. This was satisfactory for him, and after smiling at his work, saved the picture and closed the program.

 _This calls for celebration. Celebration of my beautiful MS Paint work of art. I knew I should've gone to art school._

Phoenix, still unreasonably proud of himself, reached into his bag and brought out a yogurt cup. A closer inspection of the label showed that it was strawberry flavored, which happened to be his favorite. He peeled off the lid to the cup, thinking of the sweet snack as a treat for his hard work.

 _Oh, God. I just realized anyone else looking at me must think I'm the most boring person in the world._

 _… Guess that's not really my fault, though, in this place._

As he stirred his spoon around in the yogurt, he started thinking more about his job again. Of course, it _was_ kind of boring. There was no denying that. As a receptionist, his job was literally to take phone calls and deliver any faxes to his (ugh) boss. He had plenty of free time on his hands.

Phoenix was only half kidding when he thought about how he should have tried art school. The one thing his hands twitched to do in his free time _was_ art. He had preferred paper and pencils as a chid, but in the office, he had to make do and learn how to do it digitally. Either way, it was still enjoyable.

He glanced up, looking around the office. Everyone seemed to be doing _something_ useful with their time. Unlike him.

His gaze eventually fell to Miles' desk, and at the sight, he couldn't suppress a small smile. Miles was the only one who actually tried to _hide_ his bored expression. It didn't work, of course. Anyone with eyes and a brain could see that resigned expression of doom written all over his face, even while he was on the phone with a potential client.

 _I suppose Edgeworth's expressions and my strawberry yogurt are truly the only simple joys this office life has to offer._

Phoenix rolled his eyes at the thought. Though it was true, it was still rather pathetic to acknowledge.

He sighed and started counting down the minutes until lunch break.

&.

Miles pulled an exasperated face once he realized his pen had run out of ink. He tapped it a few times on the desk for good measure and tried again. After his repeated attempts had proven fruitless results, he started considering his next move.

He could just stop mid-report. He would continue tomorrow. However, that would leave him with no work to do for the rest of the day, which would certainly be a worser fate than at least having something to occupy his mind with.

He could ask Franziska, but… he didn't want to feed her ego complex any further.

His boss was out of the question. He didn't know his co-workers too well. There was only one person it made sense to ask.

He stood from his desk and strode over to reception, stopping at the desk before crossing his arms and giving Phoenix an expectant look.

"One second please… I happen to be a bit busy with some important work over here."

Miles rolled his eyes. "I'm sure."

Phoenix clicked around on his computer a bit more, before letting out a small cheer. "Yes! I won!" He suddenly seemed to realize what he'd said and cleared his throat, wearing a serious expression all of a sudden. "Er, what do you need, Edgeworth?"

"I do apologize for interrupting your useless game—"

"I wasn't playing any games! I was just… cheering to myself about a fax that I finally managed to send."

Miles stared. "A fax to where exactly?"

"I… um… you know what, that's confidential!" Phoenix, having finally sound a suitable excuse, grinned smugly.

"Congratulations on your well-crafted story," Miles commented wryly, though it was in good nature. "Christ, if you were drawing or something you could have just said so. Your art isn't half-bad."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, you always give me a lot of shit for… wait. Did you just say it wasn't half-bad?"

"You make it sound like I gave you a huge compliment," Miles said.

"Well, I'll take it anyway," Phoenix said, unable to repress a smile. "It's the only appreciation I ever get from besides myself, anyway. I had to resort to treating myself with yogurt."

"Of course. Strawberry, I'm assuming."

Phoenix blinked. "Uh, yeah. How'd you know?"

Miles seemed slightly thrown off guard by the question. "It's… the cup is out on the desk, Wright. Any fool can read it."

"I guess so," Phoenix replied, thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Or maybe you're just a stalker that tried super hard to read it from over there." He chuckled as an afterthought.

"Or maybe I also see that— thanks to your limited budget— you bring the same thing to our lunch breaks every day." Miles tried to act annoyed, but it was obvious he was amused at the other man's antics.

"Fine, you win," Phoenix relented, rolling back in his chair from the desk slightly. "Wait a minute, what did you come here for, anyway?"

"Oh, I…" Miles began.

The entrance door situated to the right of the reception desk swung open, and in strode a red-haired woman adorning a pastel pink dress. She was quite beautiful, but sometimes, one could get the feeling that she seemed too perfect.

"Hi, Feenie," she greeted with a thousand-watt beam.

Miles instinctively took a step back, suddenly feeling out of place for some reason.

"Hey, Dollie," Phoenix grinned back. "Oh, I forgot to ask you before, but the office was supposed to go out for drinks tonight. Do you want to go?"

"Oh, I don't know… I think I'd rather have a night in." She gave him a pleading look, complete with wide eyes and a slight pout. Miles found it sickeningly sweet.

"Oh, uh… yeah, that's okay." Phoenix clearly seemed dejected, but seemed to not want to show that. "I've actually still got some stuff to do, so… I'll go do that now."

Miles frowned when Phoenix got up to leave.

 _No, don't leave me alone with her…!_

And… he was gone. Miles stood in silence for a few moments with the other lady who he knew as Dahlia, Phoenix's beloved fiancé.

"Perhaps you could consider coming with him to the bar. I'm sure it'd mean a lot to him," Miles found himself saying.

 _…I don't know why I said that. It's not my place to say._

Dahlia gave him a look. "Are you going?"

"Most likely not, but…"

He found himself not knowing what to say. He didn't even know why he was sitting here having a conversation with this woman. He didn't even really know much about her. He had known Phoenix for a while, of course, but… that was another story.

She had left before he could say anything else. Miles felt relieved. Something about her presence always unnerved him.

He ended up retreating back to his desk, not daring to look back at reception again. He decided to leave the report as a lost cause and start searching for new potential clients, instead. He shook his mouse to wake up his computer and started that task, getting his mind back into work-mode.

He couldn't shake that odd feeling of something bothering him.

&.

Phoenix came to speak to him afterwards, when work hours were ending.

"Hey, Edgeworth. Are you gonna go to that thing tonight?"

 _As if. Not even if you paid me._

"No," Miles replied curtly. "But you shouldn't let that stop you from going."

Phoenix suddenly seemed sheepish. "Yeah, but it just… it seemed like it would be more fun if you could come."

Miles simply shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I really can't."

He wanted to ask him if Dahlia had ever given up and agreed to come, but… it seemed like a dangerous topic, for some reason. Miles decided to keep his mouth shut.

The sound of a car horn seemed to be coming from outside, startling Phoenix a little bit.

"Oh, that's my cue to go. I'll see you tomorrow, Edgeworth."

Miles nodded while Phoenix packed up his things and headed out, in a bit of a rush to get to the car waiting for him outside.

Miles looked after hm, only one thought in his head.

 _… Why can't you just get your own damn license?_

* * *

Hullo guys and thanks for reading this! If you are going to favorite this I'd like to **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE** ask you to review! Your feedback really helps me write, even if it's just a few words!

That aside, I have this up on Ao3 as well, but I've always had my roots at so here I am. :p This story is basically an office!AU if you haven't seen this before but you don't need to have watched that show to enjoy this fic.

It mainly just serves to explore the premise of what Phoenix and Edgeworth's lives would be like if they worked at this boring paper company where nothing ever happens? And how would their relationship develop? This will be several chapters I'd guess, within 10-20 is the range I predict. But yeah, please stick around if you liked this chapter! :)

(And one last note, if you spot any grammatical errors please let me know and I'll have them corrected!)


	2. Chapter 2

"Yes, it's a hundred percent post-consumer content." Miles held the phone receiver to his ear while he shuffled around with a few files on his desk. "Hello?"

"Hello?" Miles repeated. "I apologize, but I believe our connection is breaking up. Can you hear me? Hello?"

Miles listened intently for any sign that his client was still on the other end of the line. After a couple of moments, he began to finally hear a crackling voice. However, as he strained to hear it, another noise began to drown out that voice.

He looked over to find Franziska feeding papers into her shredding machine.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me for a moment," Miles said, before closing the receiver and looking to Franziska. "Really, Franziska? You have to do that right now?"

"When else would I do it?" she replied briskly, continuing the task, seemingly unaffected by the loud whirring noises it created.

"Yes, I'm sorry, please do continue, Mr. Rich. I'm sorry, what?" Miles attempts to hear his client were in vain. Feeling his frustration bubble up, he reached over and in one swift move, pulled the plug to the damned paper shredder.

"I deeply apologize for all the interruptions, Mr. Rich. So, you were saying? … Alright, that works perfectly. Can I ask—"

Franziska reached over pressed the switch hook, effectively ending the call.

Sighing heavily, Miles placed the phone back down and rubbed his temples, trying to ease his oncoming headache. "I very much appreciate the gesture, Franziska."

"Foolishly foolish fools get what foolishly foolish fools deserve. That's the saying, isn't it?" She calmly plugged her machine back in and resumed the cacophonous task.

Miles didn't even bother arguing.

He exhaled deeply in an attempt to calm himself, trying to logically find a way out of this. This client was his easily his biggest sale of the year. The company (predominantly run by women) simply adored him for reasons unbeknownst to him. He simply made a single phone call every year to renew their subscription, and it ended up making up a whopping twenty five percent of his commission.

Suffice to say, it was an important sale.

He couldn't have Franziska ruining something this important. However, seeing as that silver-haired woman was still shredding away, he decided to hold off calling them back for a while. Was there any way to get her to act more pleasant?

 _Maybe Wright would know. … What am I saying?_

Nevertheless, he made his way over to the receptionist desk, where Phoenix was seated as usual.

"Predictable," Miles commented as he reached for a mint out of the jar placed on his desk.

"Say what you want, Edgeworth, I need _something_ to do with all this time I have on my hands. And if playing Solitaire is one of them…" Phoenix paused and squinted his eyes at the computer as if in intense concentration.

Miles simply raised an eyebrow. "Six on seven," he pointed out.

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I saw that. But I'm saving it. I like it when the cards all make that fluttery sound."

"… Who wouldn't love that?"

There was sarcasm abound, but Phoenix didn't seem to mind.

&.

Miles finally remembered just what made this place so intolerable.

It was Larry Butz.

Today was _Diversity Day_. He definitely wasn't looking forward to it. Larry wouldn't understand the term 'politically correct' even if it came up to him and smacked him in the face.

He had tried to pick up where he left off with his client only to have that man usher him into the conference room for this meeting, forcing him to once again keep them waiting.

It's not like it was any better inside. The man from HR couldn't get a single sentence in without Larry interrupting every few seconds to try and subconsciously assert his authority.

Not to forget the blatantly racist remarks.

"I've got a great idea! Let's go around the room and each person say what race they're attracted to!"

Miles dropped his face into his hands.

&.

Miles returned to his desk later on and when he made the call, only to find out a certain someone had beat him to the punch.

"We never closed on our sale earlier… Oh. That happens to another co-worker of mine, actually. She gave you a discount? … Well, I certainly don't blame you."

So that 25% commission opportunity had evaporated into thin air.

Miles blamed Larry, mostly, for keeping him out of sync with his customer all day for that idiotic, painfully shitty Diversity Day meeting. It was mostly just a barrage of terrible comments that had ended up with a plethora of awkward silences and a red handprint on Larry's face.

Heaven knows how that man was in a higher position than himself.

He was still very irritated with himself as he returned to the conference room once again, Larry's pathetic make-up speech grating on his ears. It was a large loss of potential money, after all, and that champagne bottle of the victory that was supposed to be his had wounded up on Franziska's desk.

He took the seat next to Phoenix, eyes still trained on the ground. Any moment now, Phoenix would ask him what was wrong. He'd probably smirk and joke around, and then nudge him sneakily to try and cheer him up. It would probably even work a little bit, just because it was Phoenix.

But no, not a sound.

Instead, a touch.

As his gaze flickered aside, Phoenix's head settled gentle onto the side of his shoulder, soft and steady breaths indicating that he was asleep.

And for a reason he couldn't really comprehend, he felt his worries melt away a little. He felt a tiny, smug smile bloom upon his face.

They stayed like that for some time until Larry eventually resigned to stop talking around 5 p.m., signaling the end of the work day. He waited until everyone left the room first, including Larry, until he moved.

Somewhat reluctantly, he nudged the other blue-suited man in the side.

"Huh – what?" Phoenix sat straight up, then looked to Miles with widened eyes. "Oh, was I—Sorry about that."

"No matter," Miles said haughtily, feigning some annoyance. Phoenix seemed a bit too spaced out from the nap to respond with another quip, so he ended up filing on out of the room, muttering something about a missed call from "Dollie."

Miles remained seated, still feeling the rush of warmth present in his shoulder.

All in all, not a bad day.

* * *

this is a short one, (and i already kinda had it pre-written) but i thought it stood well on its own. :) feel free to point out any errors!


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